The Importance of Being Green
by Tollian
Summary: Bionicles have their own version of St. Patrick's Day. Turaga Matau explains and the other Turaga remember their past experiences with a certain mischievous, green Toa.


-**Author's Note: **Just a short St. Patrick's Day story for all of you. Enjoy!-

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters here andBionicle belongs to Lego. Le-Matoran Day is made up by me.

The Importance of Being Green

Turaga Matau stepped out of his hut and deeply breathed in the early morning air. Today was going to be a good day. The sun was up, there was a light, warm breeze rustling through the trees, and most importantly, Matau had just planned the best celebration ever. He had been up most of the night planning and was confident that the first Le-Matoran Day celebration on this new island would be one to remember.

It hadn't been easy to plan for. Back on Metru Nui _everyone_ knew about Le-Matoran Day and celebrations were held throughout the Metru. Supplies were easy to find, which was not true for this island. Le-Wahi was mostly jungle and swamp—not the greatest place for a party, but Matau was planning to have it up in Le-Koro, or at least, were Le-Koro would be.

He smiled as he looked around his soon-to-be village. Le-Koro was coming along well: the Matoran had completed most of the bridges connecting the platforms together and were now working on building more huts. Matau was planning on using the biggest platform at the center of the village for his party. It was going to be covered with green banners, green streamers, and anything else green he could find. A few of the Le-Matoran were already up and working, filling the jungle with the sounds of pounding hammers.

"Good-bright morning, Turaga!"

Matau turned and smiled brightly at the walking Matoran. "A good-bright morning to you too, Kongu!"

"You seem very full of happy-cheer today, Turaga," Kongu observed, coming to stand beside the elder.

"I am," the Turaga said. "You should be too." 

"Why?"

"Don't you know what today is?"

"Um . . . Monday?" the Matoran guessed.

"You're kid-joking, right?" Matau's eyes grew wide as the Matoran shook his head 'no'. "It's Le-Matoran Day!" When this extracted no response from Kongu, the Turaga began to feel slightly disappointed. He knew that the chances of the Matoran remembering the holiday were slim but he had hoped that they would have retained something of the important event.

"What's Le-Matoran Day?" Kongu ventured to ask.

This brought a smile to the Turaga's mask. "It's the most important day of the year for Le-Matoran, of course! It's when we celebrate that we're green."

Again, no response. The Turaga thought over the situation. This simply wouldn't do, he decided. After all, you can't have a party if no one knows what you're celebrating. That's when the idea hit him: _I'll explain it to them,_ he thought. _Since I can't tell them about Metru Nui, some adjustments will be needed. But if Vakama can tell stories, I can too._

"Let me tell you." He cleared his throat and said the words that he always heard Vakama start his stories with. 

"In the time before time, Mata Nui created this world and with it, this island. But he did not make-create the island all at once; he did it in piece-sections. 

"On the first day he molded the hot earth and made the Mangai Volcano and all of Ta Wahi. But not satisfied with the ever-hot, steamy land, he decided to make Ga Wahi. So he took his hand and scooped out one side of the island and created Naho Bay and the surrounding area that would become Ga Wahi. Still not satisfied, he decided to make the land beautiful. When the third day came, the most important day, he created the jungle, the area which has now become Le Wahi. Deciding the land should also be used in practical ways, he took the leftover land and made the rocky part of the island into Po Wahi. To keep track of his work he created Onu Wahi, each layer of dirt containing a bit of history. Lastly, knowing that the inhabitants would need a way to see the stars and to create a place where one could look to the future, he created the tall-high Mount Ihu and the surrounding ever-cold ice that makes Ko Wahi. 

"After he made our paradise home, he created the Matoran. Le-Matoran Day is an occasion to celebrate the day Mata Nui made our tree-bright home and when he created us."

Kongu made an 'ooh' of understanding and then smiled brightly. "That was a great tale, Turaga Matau. So what do we do on Le-Matoran Day?"

"First, we decorate. Since this is the day we celebrate being green, we put up anything green we can find."

"Well, that won't be too difficult-hard. We live in a jungle. Green is all around us!"

Matau smiled. "Now you're getting it. I have a plan, but I need all of us to make it work."

"I'll quick-run and tell everyone. Don't worry Turaga Matau; this Le-Matoran Day will be great." He turned, ready to begin his mission, but looked over his shoulder. "Do we invite the other Matoran and Turaga?"

Matau's smile grew into a smirk. "I'll deal with that. You go tell the rest of the Le-Matoran about the party. The plans are in my hut."

Kongu nodded and ran off. The Turaga made his way back to his hut and began to write the invitations, chuckling to himself as he did. Matau hadn't told Kongu about a Le-Matoran Day tradition, one that got on other Matoran's nerves. Le-Matoran weren't the only ones who had to be green on this special day. Leaning back in his chair, Matau remembered last Le-Matoran Day, when he and the other Turaga were still Toa . . .

-------------------------------------

When Vakama awakened that morning, he had no idea what day it was. He had eaten breakfast and started his patrol of Ta-Metru as usual, but all the while something was nagging at him. Something at the back of his mind was screaming he had forgotten something very important, but for the life of him, Vakama couldn't remember what. His mask was on his face, his disk launcher on his back, and he had even brought extra disks. But he couldn't shake the feeling that without the special something he had forgotten, he was in danger.

Unknown to the Fire Toa, that danger was sneaking behind him, on the roofs of the surrounding forges. The red Toa Metru only became aware of this fact as some sort of netting fell around his head, effectively blinding the Toa, and a green figure dropped down in front of him. Vakama yelped and fell to the ground, starting to tear at the strands away from his face. The figure in front of him laughed and folded its wings.

"Boy, are _you_ jumpy today, Fire-Spitter!" it exclaimed, offering a hand to the struggling Fire Toa.

Vakama stopped his thrashing, recognizing the voice. "Matau?"

"The one and only! Here." 

Vakama felt his friend tear the lines around the red Toa's face. Once he could see, Vakama found himself surrounded by green streamers. Standing and shaking the rest of the paper decorations off of himself, he faced the laughing Matau with a scowl. "What in Mata Nui's name was _that_ for?"

Matau's smile only faltered slightly. "Not only jumpy, you're grumpy too. What do you think it's for? It's Le-Matoran Day!"

The frown fell into an 'ooh' of understanding. Now, Vakama remembered what he had forgotten. "I wasn't wearing green," he said, smacking himself. 

"That's right!" Matau said happily.

"I must have been the only person who forgot."

"Nah, some other people forgot too, but they'll soon remember."

The red Toa looked over at his snickering friend, shaking his head as Matau rubbed his hands suspiciously together. "I'll never understand this holiday," he muttered. 

"We don't expect you to understand it, Fire-Spitter," assured Matau, picking up torn pieces of confetti and stuffing them in a bag. "It's a Le-Matoran thing."

"Yeah, only Le-Matoran would make a holiday that celebrated _themselves. _What have you got in that bag?" asked Vakama, leaning over to get a better look. He got a quick glance of something shiny, more confetti, and some kind of green fruit before Matau shut the bag.

"Nothing that concerns you," was the reply.

As the green Toa slung the sack over his shoulder and some suspicious clanks emanated from the bag, Vakama frowned. "Matau, can you promise me you won't get carried away with this? I mean, we all understand that you Le-Matoran need your holiday, but some people don't look kindly on being ambushed with green streamers."

"Don't you worry, Fire-Spitter," Matau grunted, hoisting the bag up higher on his shoulders. "I always know when I'm taking it too far."

Vakama gave him a look but Matau was already on his way to the next victim. "Hey! I don't want to hear any complaints about you, okay?" called the red Toa. Matau raised a hand to show that he had heard but Vakama couldn't shake the feeling that Matau hadn't listened.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After making a quick dash to his house to grab his protective green arm band, Vakama continued his patrol in peace until mid morning. He met up with Whenua around mid-morning and the two walked around the Metru and talked for a bit. It turned out Matau and some other Le-Matoran had been going around the Archives and decorating the place with green banners. Whenua said he didn't mind that, but he was getting some complaints from archivists not wearing green. Apparently, Matau was up to his usual mischief. Vakama assured his brother that he had already warned Matau and would talk with the Air Toa if he saw him again. Satisfied, Whenua left to make sure Matau hadn't caused too much havoc while he had been away.

The real trouble started after lunch. Around noon, Vakama made a quick stop to buy a small lunch from a street vendor and had just finished when a very angry Onewa made his way down the street, headed directly for Vakama. Vakama looked up, smiled, and was about to hail his friend when the Stone Toa grabbed the red Toa by the front of his armor and lifted him off his feet.

"Where is _he_?" Onewa hissed.

"Who?" Vakama asked, trying to pry the brown Toa's fingers off his armor. "Let go!"

"Not until you tell me where the little _twerp_ went. I saw him run this way! You must have seen him, laughing his face off. I swear he won't get away with this."

Vakama looked into the irate Stone Toa's face and only then noticed the green slime and chunks of green fruit running down the sides of Onewa's mask. "What happened?" Now that he looked, the Fire Toa could see Onewa was covered in some green, sticky substance from head to foot.

"I forgot to wear green!" Onewa yelled, dropping Vakama to the ground. "So I forgot it was the Le-Matoran's _stupid_ holiday. I was working, minding my own business, when all the sudden I feel something hit me on the back. I spin around, thinking it's some sort of attack and something else hits me in the face. I wipe it away and realize he's throwing _fruit_ at me! _Green fruit_! Suddenly, I'm bombarded by it! Matau was hiding behind a boulder and I start chasing after him but he takes to the air and heads in this direction. Once I find him, I'm going to kill him!"

Vakama had stood up and started to wipe the sticky juice from his armor while Onewa told his story, gesturing wildly about. Once the Stone Toa was done, Vakama placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Well, I haven't seen him since early this morning. But you're not the only one who's complained about Matau today. Look, I'll go ask Nokama if she's seen anything and once I find Matau, I'll have a good long talk with him. You should go back to Po Metru and get cleaned up. And put on something green."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After he had cleaned the sticky fruit syrup off his armor and even polishing it a bit, Vakama made his way to Ga Metru. It was a beautiful afternoon and the sun's light reflected off the waters, making the Metru sparkle. As Vakama walked, he did a double take as he passed one of the protodermis channels. _Green_ protodermis? He bent down and inspected the channel more closely. Sure enough, the usual clear protodermis was a definite, bright green.

"Uh oh."

Matau had struck again.

Standing, Vakama ran towards the center of the Metru, hopping he'd be able to find Nokama. Turning onto one of the main streets he spotted her. Nokama looked stressed and frustrated, but even so Vakama couldn't help but smile. "Nokama!" he called, jogging towards her.

The Water Toa looked up and smiled, causing the Fire Toa's heart to jump. "Oh, hello, Vakama. I was just coming to see you. I don't suppose you've seen Matau recently, have you?" 

Vakama shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I was coming to ask you the same thing. Apparently, you've fallen victim as well."

Looking at the green canals, Nokama nodded. "Yes. I've spent the past few hours dealing with it. I asked the labs to analyze the water and apparently it's just food dye but I've still had to go around and convince the Matoran it's not harmful."

"I'm going to talk with Matau," assured the red Toa, "as soon as I can find him. But so far he's been one step ahead of me."

"You should go to Le Metru," advised Nokama. "He has to go home sometime and you can talk with him there."

"Good idea. But I have one more stop to make first. I have to warn Nuju. He'll have forgotten about today completely and if Matau reaches him before I do . . . well, let's just say I might not have a Matau left to talk to."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Unfortunately, Vakama didn't reach Nuju first. The Fire Toa had spent a bit longer in Ga Metru than he should have, talking to Nokama. Even using his disk launcher as a jet pack to make up time, he didn't reach Ko Metru until too late. He barely missed Matau's attack and reached Nuju in the immediate aftermath. 

Vakama burst into the Ice Toa's room to find a very irate Nuju standing in the middle of the room. The White Toa was covered in green paint, globs of it dripping off his shaking form onto a large puddle on the floor. Nuju spun around, sending specks of green paint flying, and stomped up to Vakama. The Fire Toa flinched at the Ice Toa's enraged gaze and braced himself for the worst. But the wrathful Toa only said seven words. "Talk to him, or I'll kill him."

That evening, as the first stars began to twinkle in the sky, Toa Matau made his way to his house, feeling very proud of himself. It was yet another successful Le-Matoran Day. But when he opened the door to his house, ready to get a much deserved rest, he found a rather frightening sight. There were his five teammates, some of them looking rather annoyed and the others looking absolutely murderous.

"Matau," Vakama said, standing at the head of them and crossing his arms. "We need to talk."

-------------------------------------

Turaga Vakama fingered the invitation nervously. Just like Matau had done that morning, he was remembering the previous Le-Matoran Day. He had come to Le Koro as the invitation had asked, but not before making sure each and everyone of the Ta-Matoran wore a bit of green. He saw the Ga-Matoran and other Matoran there too, and the other Turaga, all looking decidedly nervous. 

"You think it's another trick?" Nokama asked.

"I don't think he'd ambush us again," Whenua said, but looking anxious nonetheless. "I mean, he promised us last he year he wouldn't, right?"

"Yeah, and didn't he also promise Vakama he wouldn't get carried away?" asked Onewa. "I'm bringing my own bag of fruit this year, just in case."

Vakama turned to his comrades. "Now, I think we're all getting too worked up about this. It's just a party."

"Oh? Then you go first," challenged the Turaga of Stone.

Vakama sighed. "Fine." Stepping into the elevator with the other Turaga, he pulled the lever and readied himself for the worst.

When the elevator reached the top level and the red figures stepped onto the platform they were greeted by a loud cheer. Vakama's mouth fell open as a shower of green leaves fell from above, flittering and sparkling like confetti on the surprised guests.

"Well, this is an improvement," Nokama said, clearly awed by the sight.

Looking past the shower of leaves, Vakama surveyed the area. The platform had been transformed into a beautifully decorated area, with banners and streamers hanging from every branch and the whole area vibrantly alive with green foliage. A band of Le-Matoran musicians were playing in the back and the center was clear for partying. Out of a crowed of already-celebrating Matoran, Turaga Matau stepped forward, wearing one of the biggest grins Vakama had ever seen. "Fire-Spitter!" he called, hugging the red Turaga hard and even lifting him off the ground a bit.

"Hello to you too, Matau," Vakama grunted, smiling. "I thought I warned you about over-doing it."

Matau set his friend down as the elevator brought the next group of Matoran and Turaga. "I know," he said, still grinning. "But you know I can't help myself."

"Yes, we know. Well, this looks like it will be a fun party."

"Of course! All my parties are fun." He turned to the other Turaga. "Better than last year?" he asked.

Nokama laughed. "Yes, much better."

"My threat from last year still holds: I see any sign of fruit and you're dead," threatened the brown Turaga.

Matau nodded his understanding. "What about you, Nuju?"

The white Turaga whistled and clicked his response. "Turaga Nuju says if he sees any paint he's leaving. But he also says you've done a great job decorating," Matoro translated. "And he thanks you for inviting him."

"Yes, thank you for inviting all of us," Vakama said. "Happy Le-Matoran Day."

"Happy Le-Matoran Day, Fire-Spitter," replied the green Turaga. "Now, all of you go enjoy the party. I promise no ambushes this time."

Matauturned, satisfied his friends would take care of themselves. But once his back was to them, he felt someone pinch him hard. He yelped and spun back around to find Vakama standing with a proud smile on his face. "You might _be_ green," Vakama mischievously said. "But you're not _wearing_ any."

-**A/N:** Not much to say, just the ususal: I hoped you liked the story and I love to get reviews. Anyone who reviews gets a four leafed clover. Happy St. Patrick's Day!-


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